Arc's Ironworks
by Aconsta
Summary: "Aren't you a bit young to run a weapon shop?" "Aren't you a bit young to be carrying around a High Caliber Sniper Scythe?" After a new shop opens up in town, Ruby can't help go check it out, where she meets the enigma that is Jaune Arc. As she and others try to figure out just who he is, theres something he's trying to hide, and it's something big.
1. Chapter 1

Arc's Ironworks

Ruby Rose was excited. Not only had she made it past initiation, she got a partner, Weiss (who was a bit of a snob) a team with her sister Yang (not bad) and Blake her sister's partner (was really quite and bookish). That wasn't why she was excited however, today she was going to check out the new weapon store that had opened in Vale. While she wanted to be a huntress, she had quite a fascination with weapons, and she were to be honest with herself, seeing one was better than meeting people. So, a trip to the new store was in order, if nothing else than to see what could be found.

After getting into town, she wandered around for a little bit, until she found a store that sold cookies, (so what if it was ten o'clock in the morning) and milkshakes. A quick detour and she was off to find this store, bag of cookies and a lighter pocket besides the point. After wandering around a bit (it was the directions on the flyer, not her ability to navigate mind you) she finally found it, it not being much to look at. A relatively small shop, with a wooden sign saying "Arc's Ironworks" was the only clue that this was the new shop. Having a little doubt (shouldn't a store filled with weapons be bigger?) she poked her head through the door.

Inside Ruby saw a blonde leaning on a glass counter, inside ranged from daggers to pistols to brass knuckles. On the right wall stood kinds of rifles and shotguns, a wooden marker showed it to be long barrel firearms. On the left side stood the swords of all kinds including sabres, cutlasses, katanas, broadswords, claymores, gladius, scimitar, and many others. In the middle of the store was rows of ammunition, and kinds of armor, ranging from shields to body armor. So interested with the range of weapons in the store, she failed to notice that she had the attention of the blonde behind the counter.

"Excuse me, you gonna come in or are you just going to gawk like that all day?" the boy asked, an amused smile on his face.

"Oh uh, sorry, my names Ruby, Ruby Rose. You are?" Ruby said, blushing in embarrassment at the fact she had ignored the boy. "Nice to meet you Ruby, names Jaune, so what kind I help you with?"

Ruby looked around and saw that none of the weapons could switch, and decided to make a inquiry about that. "Do you not carry hybrid weapons?"

"Nope, its too hard for me to make." Juane responded, standing up right, and Ruby mentally bristled at the fact that he was almost a full foot taller than her, and she was 5'5" dammit, she was tall for her age. "What? You're a weapon shop, but don't carry hybrids? Can i speak with your boss, this must be a mistake." Ruby was absolutely sure that the boy had made an error, right? Jaune shrugged, turned around and went through a door that was behind him, and walked right back out with a couple pieces of paper in his hands.

"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Jaune Arc, Simple Weapons Master, Master Forger, and owner of this establishment." Ruby couldn't help widen her eyes, no way was this guy a weapon master. "What, that can't be, no one has ever made weapon master under the age of fifty, that test is insane, and all these are uncool and and and" she would have went on, but Jaune raised his hand, a smile on his face.

"Your right, I'm not a weapon master, I'm a simple weapons master, theres a difference. I have no clue on how to make a hybrid weapon, nor the ability to tell you the mechanics of one. What i can do, is make any weapon that doesn't transform. All these out here, are things I made with my own two hands. Besides, I have a things for the classics" he said as he pushed the papers towards Ruby, who looked at the papers with a critical eye. Indeed, the first one was from the Kingdoms of Weapon Mastery Association, which stated that he, Jaune Arc was a master of Simple Weapons, and the new was a form stating that he was the owner of the shop.

Looking back at him, Ruby couldn't help but feel a bit jealous that he had gotten something that incredible, he barley looked older than her. Yet here was the proof, and she couldn't find a thing that implied that it was a fake. "So, if your a weapons master, then you must have an amazing one to your self, can i see it?" she asked, pulling the puppy dog eyes to make him cave. Instead of caving like she expected, he just laughed, and leaned back against the counter. "Sorry Ruby, but I got seven sisters, four of them younger, that look isn't going to get you anything with me, nice try though." She huffed at this, not only was he a master, but her look didn't affect him, how unfair.

Shaking his head at the young girl, he pulled a revolver from behind his back, a collapsable baton from his pocket, and placed them in from of the younger girl. With stars in her eyes, the objects where gone in a flash, with Ruby looking at them just as one might look at a fountain of liquid gold. She sighed in disappointment, while the baton was light and, with a quick snap of her wrist, sturdy with yellowish markings around it, it was just a normal one. The revolver marked with intricate with markings that shone with a light blue, with its silver body and cylinder, and wooden grip that had obviously been taken care of, but used quite a bit. Over all, just normal, if pretty looking weapons, here she was, hoping to see something cool.

"Do Volt and Frost not meet your standards?" Jaune asked with a raided brow, not angry but curious at the girl. Ruby grimaced, she had just insulted the guy's personal weapons in front of him. Heaven knows that if someone talked bad about her baby, then they would be flat on the ground with cuts all over. "It's not that, just, well, I mean, shouldn't they be, i don't know, cooler?" There she goes again, running her mouth, and waited for him to started barking at her, but instead was surprised when he tool them back and gestured to follow him. Hesitantly, after all he could be mad, and followed him out the back into a large open area.

Jaune looked back at her, and gestured for her to take out her own weapon. Seeing it, he gave a low whistle, it was defiantly a thing to see. "Well, why don't we have a spare then? If you win, you get to have a months worth of ammunition for free. If I win, you learn how to make do with one of my "Uncool" weapons, deal?" Ruby thought about it, free ammo would allow her to save money, which could then be used for more cookies. If she lost however, she'd have to make do with one of the lame ones that wasn't her baby. Then again, she thought, he is just a civilian. Deal." "Alrighty then, shall we get started?"

She quickly rushed off, planning to end it in one shot. To her surprise however, he ducked under her swing, spun around and extend Volt straight into her stomach sending electricity into her. Stunned, she was unprepared for the follow up blow to the face, sending her off across the field. Shaking off the shock (Pun intended) Ruby decided it was time to switch strategies, that was, of coarse, before a rain of bullets came towards her. Blocking them with Crescent, all six shots were dealt with as she tried to switch to sniper mode. Tried being the key word there, as when she pulled the trigger, Crescent wouldn't budge from scythe form. As she was busy with this revelation, Jaune and reloaded and advanced towards her. Trying again to take him out, Ruby rushed at him, swinging wide. Expecting Jaune to dodge, (after all when a giant as scythe is trying to bisect you from the waist, people tended to move) she was stunned as Jaune blocked the blade trying to cleave him in two with his baton, and unloading three bullets straight into her abused stomach.

Falling back onto the hard ground, she opened her eyes to see the revolver pointed right between her eyes, her opponent staring at her with a neutral face. "Looks like I won, don't you agree?" Ruby winced at that, know that she'd have to part with her baby. "Don't gimme that look, all I said was you have to learn with one my other weapons, never said anything about giving up your toy. Now come on, I'll help you pick one out." As they walked inside, Ruby asked Jaune about the electricity and frost during their match.

"Did you think I gave them those names without a reason?" At her sheepish look, he sighed and explained."The marking on Volt is make wit traces of Lightning dust, thats why it shines yellow. Frost has blue, meaning is Ice dust. All the bullets I threw at you, while not effective with your Aura up, still imparted Ice onto you, cause that frost to form on you, same thing with your weapon, which is why it could not change."

They spent a while of trying to find a weapon in the shop that would be good for her to learn. Finally settling on a dagger, (she swore she heard him mutter something about roses and thorns ) they agree that every other day she would come do to his shop, where he would teach her how to handle her new dagger. As they were walking back to her ride to Beacon, she couldn't help but ask. "How do you know to fight with daggers, if you use that baton of yours Jaune." "Simple, what kind of seller would I be if I didn't know how to use my own wares. Believe it or not, I know how to use all of the weapons I make." Ruby was impressed, most people only studies with one kind of weapon, and since most were hybrids, people didn't seem to care to learn others.

After her ride came he bid her farewell. "Remember, Thursday after school." "Yeah Yeah, so you later Jaune." "See you Ruby, it's a date." As the doors shut, she face burned as red as her cloak. "D-d-d-date?"

 **Yay, happy birthday. So yeah, I watched Ruby due to a friends suggestion. Gotta say, really like it. So much so that gave my dead writers instinct a kick to life. I know, not good, characters OC and stuff. Something called Author's Rule, I write my story however I dam well please. Constructive Criticism is welcome, gotta know what gets the people going after all. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed, catch in the next chapter, peace.**


	2. Chapter 2

Arc's Ironworks: Chapter 2

Jaune sighed as he lent across the glass counter of his store. It was midday on Thursday, and Ruby was to come in later for her first lesson on using the dagger. That was still almost five hours away, and frankly, he was bored. He had to wait till tomorrow for the next shipment of metals to start forging again, he had already dusted down the weapons and walls, swept the floor, and cleaned his tools. Sure, the occasional hunter would come in the buy some ammo, and a traveler would come in to inquire about a pistol to help discourage others of try to mug them, plus the rare shady guy that spent a long time asking questions only to buy a simple knife off the counter, but that was few and far between. All in all, it was a very slow and uninteresting day.

That was of coarse, until Roman motherf*king Torchwick walked inside his little store, followed by his ever silent companion Neo. Sure, Jaune had meet the guy, he was the first customer after all, and he had needed a some Fire dust for his cane. Few days later he came back, this time with Neo in tow, and contracted him to make that knife that fit inside her parasol. Needless to say, they were acquainted, still didn't mean he liked the guy. Dad always said not to trust a guy that wore a lot of white and put on makeup. Neo, well, he knew not to mess around with the little sadist, especially concerning her ice cream, even if it was his to start with.

"Jaune my boy, how've you been. Eating well, getting enough sleep, not working too hard are we?" Roman said as he strut around the store, looking at the cane blades on the walls. Neo was looking intently at the door behind his back, no doubt trying to figure out if he had restocked on ice cream. Jaune stood up and made a show of loading Frost, bullet by bullet. So what if it wouldn't work to intimidate them, gotta make a show right?

"What do you need from me, Roman. You don't exactly come off as the "concerned friend" kinda guy to me." Jaune said as he holstered Frost, leaning back against the wall, eyes glancing between the two.

"Why Jaune, you wound me. Are you telling me that we're not friends?" Roman asked, gripping his chest in an overly dramatic way. Jaune just rolled his eyes, figuring the prick would pull something like this. Seeing Jaune unamused at his little display, Roman quickly moved on to a more serious matter.

"Look Jaune, I need body armor, enough for a gang of twenty men, twenty crowbars, twenty pairs of knuckle dusters, and a gallon of ice cream. I need it all by next Friday, midnight at the latest." Jaune narrowed his eyes, that was a tall order fill, especially in such a small amount of time. One thing was bothering him about this sudden order though, and if something bothers him, he made sure to get some answers for it.

"Why a gallon of Ice cream? I'm not a convenience store you know." Jaune asked, a bit peeved that the man couldn't just go get some himself. An Ice cream shop was just down the street for crying out loud.

"Neo is banned from all stores that sell Ice cream, and I have better thing to do than play shopper. That is beside the point, can you do it?"

"Yeah, I guess I can get it done. Thats a tall order though, it's gonna cost you."

"Good, and the upfront is right here. The rest will be transferred after we collect. Deal?"

"Deal." Say what you want about the man, but he pays good for the things he needs. After filling out the paperwork, (under a fake name and account that is) he got the number to call after the order was complete. (Different number every time. Can't have the orders tracked to a single point, or something along those lines.)

Turning to walk out, Roman quickly turned back to Jaune,a serious face on the normal cocky man.

"Is that armor of mine coming along well? It'll be time for me to cut off soon, and that will be my lifeline as I do, you know that right Jaune?"

"It's almost there. I need some more earth and fire dust, in it's purest form to finish off the head piece. After that, I have to do the gauntlets and line the whole thing with heat reduction cloth. I get those done, it'll take at most two more weeks to finish the thing." Roman frowned, he need that armor, and two weeks was a long time to wait in his line of work.

"I'll get that dust to you by tonight then." Roman and Neo gave a wave before breaking into glass, vanishing from his store.

Opening up the upfront payment, he found a stack of money, enough for two months rent of the place, meals, and supplies. Overall, it was a good amount of dough, with more coming in after he finished the order for Roman. Yeah, he, Jaune Arc was working for a crime boss. Well, a very good thief at the very least, not much of a boss if you only have one person following you,no matter how crazy they are. Sighing, Jaune looked at the clock, he still had another three hours before Ruby came. Deciding to take a nap, he went into the back that held his personal area, not including his forge. A simple bed and bathroom in one room, kitchen/dining area in another part of the place, it wasn't much, but it was home. Jaune laid down, making a mental reminder that he needed to get some new clothes. His old ones have been collecting an amount of burns and holes in them.

 _Over at Beacon_

Yang loved her dear sister, well, dearly. However, there were things that she could get short minded with when it came to Ruby, cookie obsession being one, lack of humor another, (her puns are funny damit) but this, well this just took the cake. After returning home from that weapons store in town, she was a stuttering mess. After ten minutes she managed to get the whole story from her. Explaining to the rest of the team that after losing a bet with the weapon master, who was slightly older than they were, she now has to learn to use a dagger. Now secretly, Yang was glad that her sister was getting these lessons. Ruby, along with as most of the student body, knew only to fight with their chosen weapon. With this, if something where to happen, well, she'd rather not think about it.

"What if he doesn't like the way I'm training, or how I act, or maybe my age will be a turnoff, or " Ruby was currently blabbering to Weiss, who was trying her best to see where she was coming from, but couldn't help but be bothered at her partners incessant jabber.

"Look Ruby, I think your taking this date thing too seriously. I mean, the guy is helping you train, not taking you as a bride. So relax, go as you normally are, and everything will be just fine. Plus, you should not be worrying about what is a turnoff young miss."

"Yang's right Ruby, he probably didn't mean it in a romantic sort of way. You just meet each other right?" Blake said, not eve looking up from her book.

"I guess your right. Oh it's time for me to go, I'll see you guys later." Ruby rushed out of the room, leaving the rest of her teammates to themselves.

"So, we gonna follow her and see what goes on this date of hers?" Blake asked once she was sure her leader was out of range.

"Yup, I have to make sure she stays safe."

"Do you truly believe that as a huntress she cannot take care of her own well being?" Weiss asked.

"Awww are you jealous that someone asked Ruby out before you, Weiss-cream?" Yang teased.

"What! Heavens not, I only say so becau-"

"Whatever, lets go make sure we don't lose track of her." Yang interrupted, and off they went to stalk err observe their leaders date. After all, what are teammates for?

 _Back with Jaune_

Waking to sound of buzzing, Jaune was confused. Mom and Dad wasn't gonna call him until next week, and the guy that wanted an extra large chakram (why anyone would want one of those was a mystery to him) wasn't gonna come get it till later tomorrow. So why did he set an alarm? A knocking at the front door distracted him from his current predicament. When he opened the door, he was saw Ruby there in her school uniform, and was reminded of why he set said alarm.

"Hey, how come your here in those?" Really didn't seem like the kind of cloth one would wear when training.

"Oh, well you see, uh, school just finished and I came right over, and you know, didn't think to get changed and er if it's not good then I can go change, then come back later ..." she stopped talking as Jaune held a hand up, an amused smile on his face.

"No it's fine, your just a bit earlier that I expected. Come on in, let's get started." Jaune walked back into his shop, Ruby right behind him.

Walking towards the counter, he walked behind it and crouched under, searching for the one he had picked out that would suit her the best. While he was doing that, Ruby was inspecting a peculiar looking weapon. It had several metal rods attached to each other, and a dart on one end and a handle on the other, there was a piece of black cloth wrapped close to the dark portion of it. She was lost at how one would use such an odd thing in a fight.

"That is called a chain whip. It's a unique kind of thing, one of the harder ones to get good at, let alone master. If you did happen to master it, well, people would have a tough time winning against you thats for sure. " Ruby shrieked as she spun to find Jaune right behind her looking at the object of her interest.

"Ha, sorry about that, uh got what you were looking for?" Ruby questioned. Jaune held up a dagger that was about around eleven inches long, and was decorated on left side, which was dull, and sharp of the right side.

"This is called a Mistral dirk. Over in Mistral, the upper class people, you know, the ones that made all kinds of art and books and stuff? Yeah they didn't like to have big and obvious weapons on their person, made them look barbaric or some other dumb reason. They liked being without a hunk of steel to defend themselves with even less, so they came up with this beauty. Capable of hiding it under a long skirt or in long boots, such as you are wearing, while still being fashionable it is perfect as a secondary weapon, since you'll still use Crescent even after you learn how to use this, won't you?" At her nod, he led her over to a dummy that had lines of red and dots of blue on it.

"What are the lines and dots for?" Ruby questioned.

"This has one side that is sharpened, so you need to use that side to cut where those lines are, representing the major arteries and veins in a person. The dots are fatal ares to stab in a person. Remember, this is a slashing weapon, stabbing is where you commit entirely to finishing a fight. If you know for certain that you have the chance to end it, or that they can't counter you, then, and only then, do you stab. Ok? Have at it." Ruby took the blade and went to work on the dummy. As she started, Jaune found that something looked wrong, and after a couple more minutes of watching, he found what it was.

"Hold on. Your stance is off, copy mine. When you cut down, bring it across you chest, like that, yeah. Keep your hand gripped like your holding a hammer, yup. Good, keep going." After an hour or so of getting her familiar with the targets to hit,and chasing her arrangement to better fit her build and style, he decided to call it a night for the dummy. Taking the dagger back, he placed it behind the counter.

"Nice job, Ruby. Tell you what, since its a bit late, wanna stay and have some dinner with me?" Jaune asked.

Ruby thought about it. She wasn't due back for another couple hours for curfew, and she **was** hungry. Plus, she could get to know some more about Jaune, so she agreed. Texting her friends that they should go ahead and have dinner without her, Ruby asked what was for dinner. Jaune gesture for her to follow him again, this time into the kitchen. She noticed that she had been following him places a lot today. In the kitchen, she sat down at the small table, and watched as Jaune got to work making dinner. She had to say, she was impressed as he made some kind of soup, chopping vegetables with ease, and making a pot of rice. Deciding to ask something while he was working, she ended up asking the first thing that had come to mind.

"Where is your family Jaune." Noticing his flinch, she went to apologize, be before she could, he started to answer.

"There is a little village about a weeks travel from here, called Stangael. (Pronounced Stan-Gale) Its a a farm town, close to the mountains. Dad was a Hunter of some fame, and Mom a Huntress, one of the best there was. They were on the same team, and after Dad got injured during a mission, they retired to that place. It was pretty hectic, being the fourth of eight children, but we loved each other. When I was fourteen I got an apprenticeship with the local blacksmith. I loved working with metal, taking something raw and then shaping it to a tool, knowing that I was the one to produce it, well, it was a special feeling. When i turned sixteen, Dad and I had a bit of a falling out. I wanted to be a smith, after making swords and shields for the local guard, I figured thats what I wanted to do with my life, my calling you know? My Dad however, he didn't like that idea very much. He had planned for me to take over the family farm, marry one of the girls there, and just live that kind of life. Me, I did't want that as my future, so one night I packed my things, told them I was moving to Vale, and I was going to make a name for myself as a smith. Two weeks later, I show up here, went to take the test, passed with a bit of effort, took out loan, and opened up this store. That was a year and a half ago. Now I'm seventeen, the place is still afloat, and even though people don't run here when they want a weapon, I still feel good that somewhere, something I made is helping people. Every few weeks my family, sisters and all, they call to ask me how I'm doing, but mostly to try and convince me to give up this dream of mien and move back and take up the farm."

Ruby didn't know how to respond to that. How could she, all her life she had her parents support, and even when her Mom had died, her Dad was still Ok with her wanting to become a Huntress. She couldn't imagine doing that, running off, leaving Dad and Yang behind. However, the fire in his eyes as he spoke, the passion he felt as he made it craft, the commitment as he told her about fulfilling his dream, it inspired her. She felt that if he could put so much into following his dream, then well, so could she.

"Don't worry Jaune, when I'm an awesome Huntress, you'll be the only place that I get my stuff from. Then everyone will come and buy at the place the famous Ruby Rose does." she promised, a fire in those silver eyes of hers. Jaune could only nod dumbfounded. He honestly didn't expect something like that to come out of the girls mouth after telling her his backstory.

After dinner was over, they talked a bit more, and then finally made their way back to the docks where she would catch her flight back to Beacon. Reminding her that the next lesson would be on Sunday, they bade each other a friendly farewell. Making his way back to the store, Jaune felt that they would become good friends. "Only if you manage to keep her from finding out that you work with criminals." his inner mind told him. While he did pass the test, and he did get a loan, said loan din't come from a bank. After seeing his no existent account and history with money, they refused. Getting desperate, he went to a guy named Junior, a big time crime boss, ironically enough. Agreeing that he would make things for Junior, and not ask questions about what it was for, Jaune got the money to open his shop. Would Ruby still be his friend if she found out that he, by aiding criminals, was also a bad guy? No use thinking about it, right now he had to get started on that order for Roman.

"Don't hate me if you ever find out the things I do, Ruby. Sometimes when you chase your dreams, you end up chasing them into a world of shadows." he mutters as he made it back home.

Yay, I did it. Are you not proud of me? Will the relationship deepen? Will I introduce someone else? Will my crippling depression and inability to grammar ever be fully resolved before I post more things on the Internet? Find out next time. Till then, I'll catch you guys in the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Arcs Ironworks: Chapter 3

It was a Friday, and Jaune was once again leaning against the counter, waiting for something to happen. He had already gotten his pay from Roman, who had come to get his order earlier, and while he had another for a naginata, that wasn't to be done for another month, mostly because the wood he needed had to come in from Atlas. Sure he could go get food and clothes and stuff, but that was no fun without someone else. The sound of a door opening caught his attention, finally, something to do.

To his surprise, Ruby walked into the store, followed by another girl with red hair, seemed to be dressed in bronze armor, and stood only a couple inches short if himself. They were having a very intimate conversation, with various degrees of hand motions and sound effects (courtesy of Ruby). Seeing that the two were busy talking, Jaune decided that it would be necessary for him to go over.

"Hey Ruby, need something so soon?" Jaune asked, interrupting the conversation, something about cookies being a better alternative to cake. (An utterly false statement, his Mom's cakes could top anything a dumb cookie could taste like.)

"Hiya Jaune, this is my friend Pyrrha, she needs a replacement sword and spear because her's broke in combat class." Ruby said, oblivious to the other girls embarrassment over the fact that her weapon had been broken.

"Easy enough, what are the weapons and specs that you need." He needed something more than just sword and spear to make the proper weapons the girl, Pyrrha, needs.

"Here, these please. I know it might be a bit difficult, but I need them for Monday if it's at all possible." Handing over a list, Pyrrha could only hope that the blonde smith could get her order done in time.

Looking over the list, Jaune raised a brow, they were some oddly unique weapon specs that this girl wanted. A Xiphos was normally around two feet in length of iron piercing power, but this one was only fourteen inches, a good bit shorter than what was typical, and now it added a bit more challenge in order to make it that length without giving it too much forward weight. The other weapon she needed was a dory, the length varied between peoples preference, this one seven and a half feet long, and the head piece was shaped to be a bit more round than normal.

"I can get it done in time for Sunday, why don't you come over with when Ruby does, it should be done for sure by that time. Any preference of metal and wood?" Jaune questioned, most of the time when people walked in with specific lengths and head shapes for the spears and swords, they often wanted a particular kind of metal to go along with it.

"Yes, can the Xiphos be made of Mistral steel, and the Dory use Valean Pine with Vale Iron for the head piece." Pyrrha was glad he asked, she didn't want to be the one to add details, they were, after all, only temporary until her regular one was fixed, so she didn't need to carry more than one on her person.

"The dory will be easily done, but Mistral steel, thats a very expensive kind of metal. Plus to be done in only a day and a half, your asking for a very hefty price, can you afford that?" Now, Jaune was all for the challenge and was more than willing to help the girl, but he still needed money, (ignoring the high pay job he just had), the dust for his little private project didn't come cheap.

"Jaune, I' sure that she can afford it, she's Pyrrha Nikos, she probably has more money that she could need." Ruby exclaimed, wondering if Jaune thought that just because they were students, that they couldn't afford the price, they had money! (Even if the money came from the school in limited allowances.)

"Nikos? Are you related to anyone named Alekos Nikos by chance?" Jaune asked.

"Yes, actually he's my father." When Ruby revealed her name, the question of being her fathers daughter was never one to come across her mind, and that was slightly good news for her, she came to Beacon to escape her fame after all. (Not that it seemed to work very well.)

"Well then, that should make it a bit more fair. He's the man that I get the materials from Mistral, and man does your Dad drive a hard bargain. Tell you what, if you get you old man to drop his prices a bit for, you'll only need to pay for the dory. Deal?" Jaune asked, if the prices went down even a little bit, then he'd be able to get much more, and even make a bit more profit, and she gets her sword, everybody wins.

"I think I can get him to agree for a bit of a price drop, but only if the Xiphos and Dory are as good as Ruby claims that you can make them. Fair enough?" At his nod, Pyrrha made sure that she would place a call back home when she got back to the dorm.

After all the paper work was settled, Ruby asked Jaune if he wanted to hang around Vale with them. Seeing a good chance to go get some new clothes and some food, he agreed. Making it to a store, he went in to get and to his dismay, the girls tagged along and commented on his style of dress. Getting some blue jeans and black t-shirts, with a bit of convincing from Ruby and Pyrrha, white, red, grey button downs., and a dinner jacket. Moving over to the shoes, he got a pair of boots, sneakers, and worst of all, dress shoes. According to them, a guy must always have clothes needed for formal events. (What did they know about what a guy needed to dress himself.) Jaune decided to get them something for doing out to help him, a black scarf for Ruby (nothing else would work with her outfit, according to her.) and a red sweater for Pyrrha.

Walking the girls to the docks to get their ride back to Beacon, Jaune bid them a good night. Making his way back, Jaune started to think about how he would start for Pyrrha's weapons.

 **At Beacon**

"Hi Dad, it's me, Pyrrha. Do you happen to know a person by the name Jaune, Jaune Arc?"

"Arc, yes I know him, why? Did he do something to you?" Call him what you want, but Alekos Nikos was very protective of his family, especially his little girl, the fact she had won four tournaments in a row not putting a dent in that resolve.

"No, nothing at all like your thinking. I had an accident with Miló, and while I sent it back to Joan to get him fixed, I still need ones to use in combat class. The price for what I need was a bit too high, but we came to a kind of deal."

"What kind of deal, Pyrrha, is he forcing you to do something? If he is then I'll-"

"No Dad, nothing like that. He said that your his supplier for the things he needs from Mistral. You and I both know that you charge more than what some of those supplies are worth. So the deal is that if you drop the price a bit, say five percent, and he'll only charge me for the Dory."

"Using my baby girl to make me drop my prices, that little punk."

"Dad!" Pyrrha loved her father very much, but sometimes her could get on her nerves, and sometimes she could get sick of it at times, like now.

"When do you need these weapons by?"

"Monday, Dad."

"Test them out, and if they hold par, then tell him I'll drop it by twenty five percent, and you don't have to pay a dime." He sighed out, honestly, the things he does for his little girl. They continued to talk a bit more before bidding each other a good night.

 **With Ruby**

"Ruby, this is the third time you've went to go see this Jaune guy. I think you need to spend some time with us, your team." Yang said, while she was happy her baby sister was taking an interest in guys, (just think of all the conversations they can have, bonding over girl talk, just what she always wanted), it was staring to look like an obsession, and with one already on cookies, well, one was bad enough.

"Yang, I already told you, I went down because Pyrrha needs replacement weapons for class. Jaune makes weapons, it only makes sense that i introduce them." Ruby honestly didn't see what the problem was, she was helping her friends, Jaune needs customers, and Pyrrha had to get weapons, it was simple logic to get them together.

"I have to agree with your sister on this one, Ruby. I know that you'll be having these feelings of attachment that comes with growing up, and you have these thoughts, but this level of them is not healthy." Blake piped in, noticing how red Ruby got at the mention of attachment and thought centered around Jaune.

"Weiss, help me." Ruby begged of her partner.

"I have no want to get involved with your love life, Ruby." Weiss said, smirking slightly as her leader flopped on her bed and groaned into the pillow.

 **Sunday**

Pyrrha and Ruby walked back into the store together after school, and there they found Jaune polishing a blade in his hand. Looking up, he smiled as he saw the two. Gesturing for them to follow him, turned and walked out the back door. Ruby immediately walked back with him, and after a second of hesitation, so did Pyrrha. She saw Ruby swinging what she recognized as a Mistral dirk, and she was surprised, she thought that Ruby would rather be dead that use something other than her scythe.

"Here Pyrrha, try these out, see if they are up to snuff." Jaune called out, tossing the spear at her, and after catching it, the Xiphos.

"They feel alright, but how do I know that they'll stand up to battle standards." Pyrrha questioned, knowing that just because something gelt good, didn't mean it preformed as well.

"Well, then we'll just have to have a little spar, now won't we? Give me a minute, let me get my gear." Jaune questioned, smirking slightly are her before turning to retrieve Frost and Volt.

"Psst. Pyrrha, just a quick heads up, Jaune's weapons have dust in them that shock you with his baton, and freeze you with his revolver." Ruby had appeared next to her, whispering quickly before going right back to hitting the dummy as Jaune walked back.

"Ready?" Jaune asked, and getting a nod from her, got into his stance.

Taking out Akoúo, Pyrrha swung her new Xiphos a bit before advancing towards her opponent. Blocking the bullets, she took a swing at Jaune, who stepped back firing the rest of Frost's bullets at Pyrrha, before pulling out Volt and settling into a defensive stance. Rushing forward, Pyrrha tried to stab Jaune, who side stepped and was meet with Akoúo plowing into his on his back, Jaune rolled to the side, avoiding being stabbed. Standing up, he rushed and jumped to kick at her. Pyrrha blocked with her shield, and felt him propel himself back flipping before landing in a crouch. She saw him reload Frost, wanting to stop him, she threw the dory that was on her back at him, rushing forward. Jaune tilted his head to the side, avoiding being impaled in the eye, as he spun the cylinder around.

Jaune was having a hard time with this fight. Every time he swung at an exposed part of her, it was blocked or avoided. Running at her again, Jaune meet her swing with his own, the two meeting, as Jaune struggled to keep her sword where it was as he fired a shot at her midsection, blocked once again by Akoúo. Letting her win the strength battle, he ducked and spun, attaching her in the hells, brining her to meet the ground. Standing and firing a couple rounds at her, Pyrrha rolled over and threw her shield at Jaune, who ducked under it, only to fell it smash into the back of his head, throwing him off balance. Shooting at her as he regained his footing, he saw her rush at him, and he was hard pressed to counter her swings. Stepping back, he realized his mistake as she slammed him once more with Akoúo. Pyrrha thrust the Xiphos at her downed opponent, surprised at the surge of electricity going up her arm as Jaune hit her wrist as he back rolled onto his feet.

Rushing forward once more, Pyrrha stabbed towards his chest, expecting him to move to a side. Surprised, she found that he had gone low, picked her up from behind the knees, and slammed her back into the before trying to fire Frost at her chest. Blocking once more with Akoúo, she wrapped her legs around his waist before rolling, bringing her where she pointed the Xiphos at his neck, knees at either side of his chest. Breathing heavily, she saw that he had pulled Frost up and it was pointed at her face, muzzle a few inches away from her face. It was silent for a bit, before Jaune sighed, his arm falling at his side.

"You win." Jaune sighed, he was out of breath, and it was worse that one of his own weapons that was pointed at his neck.

"Really, I think it was more like a draw." Pyrrha said, remembering his gun right infant of her face.

Grunting, Jaune flipped the cylinder open, showing her the empty chamber. Pyrrha looked surprised, but it made sense. There was only a limited amount of bullets that can be fired, she guessed one could lose track of the amount fired during the heat of battle. Looking at his blue eyes, she couldn't help but stare at them, a deep looking blue that reminded her of the sea water that her father took her to, once upon a time.

"Hey guys, are you ok? You've been like that for a bit." Ruby asked, looking at Pyrrha sitting on Jaune's chest made her a little mad, especially how they were looking into each others eyes.

"Yeah, you've been staring for a bit." Jaune asked, as Pyrrha jumped up in panic.

"No, I'm fine. The uh, weapons are perfect. Dad said that he'll drop his price by twenty five percent." Pyrrha blushed in embarrassment, she didn't mean to stare at him.

Jaune was speechless, that was so much more than he could have ever expected. Jumping up, he hugged Pyrrha spinning around, laughing in joy. All the possibilities, incredible, so much profit. Putting her down, and promising Ruby that they would work together closer Tuesday, he waled them back to the stop to get the ride back to Beacon. Today was a good day, now only if his family wasn't coming down to see him this week, it make this an overall good month.

 **Yay, are you guys proud of me? I tried, but was having a bit of writers block. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed it, but I'll see you all in the next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

Arc's Ironworks: Chapter Four

A knocking on the front door made Jaune stop mid swing. He looked down at the metal before him sighing, he'd been working on it for a solid two hours, and it was only now starting to look like the chain-hook it was suppose to be. Blasted customer and damm high carbon steel, why must it be so hard to mold, and why this high in carbon? Low carbon steel is just as good, made more sense for a chain, and most important of all, it made his life easier. Briefly thinking it was Ruby, shook it off. It had been almost three months since they had meet, and it was quite the friendship they had made for themselves. He had meet her older sister Yang, and in turn, Ruby had meet his, Joan. Joan was the only one to support Jaune in his dream, and often came to visit, as her husband was member of the council. How they had managed to meet was beyond his knowledge.

Pyrrha had become another good friend of his. After her father realized that having his daughter live in the same town, it was decided that Pyrrha would be his representative to Jaune's shop. Many times however, talk of work turned into talk of hobbies, childhoods, and dreams. She had even introduced her teammates to him. Ren and Nora and come to easily like Jaune, so much so that it seemed he had become an unofficial member of team LVN (liven) and many times he was pulled into their team outings.

While the social part of his life had been going well, the money part of life had come to a squeeze. While his friends would come in and pay for ammo and repairs, they hardly needed his other utilities. Roman had gotten sent to somewhere unknown to him, and so the usual orders for robbery items had come to a stop. So now he had to repair used tools and weapons in his downtime, which decreased to amount of time he had to experiment with other weapon designs. So while so far he had managed to keep a grip on his store, at times it felt like it would slip from his hands, and that made his once simple life filled with immense amounts of stress.

Taking off his protective gear, Jaune sighed, often times his friends would ask if they could do anything, Pyrrha occasionally offering to cover bills he had just in order to help him. He refused, stating that this was his dream, so he had to work for it, ignoring the crestfallen look on her face because he wouldn't accept her money. (Monty knew she had too much to deal with) Walking out of his forge and into the main space, there was a girl with long silver hair and a white dress was looking at the new product he was trying to sell. It was a combat cloak, specially designed to work as light armor for people that wanted to be fast, look cool, and have protection from light attacks. He had managed to create it based on a two layered system. The first was a reinforced leather covering, followed with soft fur to make up the inner layer, making the wearer comfortable. It was strong enough to prevent penetration of slice attacks, and so far it had been reported as a decent insulator in cold weather. He was proud of it, and it had been doing good enough so far for him to keep making them.

The girl turned as he walked towards her and Jaune had to admit, she was very attractive in the aristocratic kind of way. She had a rapier attached to her hip, showing her status as a huntress. He rose a brow, if he was being honest, it looked like she had enough money to buy from one of the more well know stores. As he was regarding her, it looked like she was doing the same to him.

"Hello there, my name is Jaune Arc, the owner of this fine establishment. Is there anything I can do to help you?" He asked, despite knowing that he had to finish this meeting off so he could return working with the chain-hook before the iron cooled and he had to reheat it, which was in of itself a pain in his ass. The silver haired girl nodded and introduced herself.

"My name is Weiss Schnne, I was wondering if my partner Ruby was here?" A Schnne? No wonder she looked like she had money, she was the 1% that his father often bitched about when the bottle hit a little to hard after work, also the cold tone she used, it got colder in the room after she spoke to him. Another thing, partner? He hadn't pegged Ruby as one to swing that way, but then again Ruby probably doesn't think of him for the kind that would work for criminals, so who was he to judge. Then again, she is still fifteen, an age to be trying out new things, finding herself maybe?

"No, not yet. She is to come in a few minutes to train with me. Do you want to wait here for her?" Jaune asked. Weiss nodded looking around distractedly around his store. He sighed, looks like that order was going to have to wait until later to be finished. "So, when you say partner, do you mean Ruby is your girlfriend?" Could it have been possible that Weiss thought Ruby was cheating on her, with him? It would make sense, she does spend an awful lot of time with him. Weiss's face quickly grew red, and she started sputtering indignantly before she narrowed her eyes angrily.

"No! I am interested in men. By partner, I mean we are paired together at Beacon as part of our team. She left immediately after class had finished and had failed to inform me of her destination. We, being her sister and myself, got worried and decided to look for her. Her sister is looking in town, and since she frequents this shack of yours, I figured she would be here." Well that was a relief, if not a bit rude, his store was so much better than a shack. Though a bit of relief made its way into his heart. There was no way Jaune wanted to have a part in being the cause of relationship problems, though he guessed that meant Ruby wasn't a lesbian. He was about to come back with a witty retort to his store being call a shack when the door jingled open and in walked to reaper in question, still in her uniform. Behind Ruby walked in Pyrrha looking somewhat conflicted with something.

"There you are! What has gotten into you, leaving without telling us. Do you know how worried we were? What do you have to say for yourself? No, I don't want to hear it, why didn't you tell us you were leaving in the first place!" As Ruby continued to get grilled by her partner, Jaune looked on in confusion and irritation. Did they have to do this inside his store, especially when he had work to do? Pyrrha motioned him over so they could speak privately.

"Hello again Jaune. There is something I wish to ask of you, if that is alright, assuming your not busy right now." Pyrrha refused to meet his eyes for some reason. He thought back to that hook he needed to finish, then decided that whatever Pyrrha needed would be a better thing for his sanity to work on. (He really hated working with high carbon steel.)

"Sure, what is it that you need?" Jaune asked as he leaned against the wall, noting that Weiss was still going at it while Ruby appeared to have stopped paying attention and was instead comparing the chain-sickles on the wall to Crescent.

"Well, I was wondering if we could have another spar. So far, you have been the closest one to beat me, and it's been so long since that has happened, that quite frankly, I missed it." The spartan girl said, looking embarrassed to have said something like that. Jaune on the other hand was stunned, sure he had some talent using his creations, but being a close match to Pyrrha Nikos, that he never would have expected.

"Well, not like it could cause any harm helping her and myself get any better." Jaune thought inwardly, outwardly he agreed. Leaving the three girls to themselves, he went to get his gear. While he did that, Ruby looked at Pyrrha quickly before talking.

"Hey Pyrrha, I know i said that you could hop in on my training sessions and all, but Jaune is suppose to be helping me." Ruby had noticed that whenever it was supposed to be just Jaune and her, Pyrrha would come in for some reason, being news from her Dad to Jaune, to repairs on Akoúo, to anything really. It was starting to bug her, Jaune was her friend first after all.

Just as she was going to reply, Jaune walked back in, and both girls questioned the new look that their friend had on. A forest green hoodless version of the cloak he had made (which in of itself was an inspiration off of Rubs cloak) y adorned over a lighter green shirt, regular blue jeans and sneakers. Attached at his side was a Colt M1911 pistol and a broadsword, with a M16 assault rifle with an ACOG scope on his back, gesturing them out towards the back, the three girls followed Jaune out the back to see what the new outfit would cause to change the battle.

"Jaune, that pistol is a really old model and that one on your back even older an even older design. How do you know how to make something like that." Jaune grinned, pulling it out and handing it to her, already knowing that she wanted to inspect it.

"Well, my Great-grandfather's brother was Nickoli Arc, the blacksmith to design collapsable weapons. The blueprints have been in the family for generations, but I was the only one to be interested enough to learn how to make it." Taking it back from her, Jaune strode over towards the end. Turning back he nodded, and getting one in response, got into position, Pyrrha doing the same. At once, the two sprinted towards each other. Jaune swung the sword down, predictably blocked by Akoúo.

Smacking her stab down with the pommel of hi sword, Jaune moved to hit her in the face with his free hand. Pyrrha smacked his fist end down with Akoúo, and Jaune followed through with pulling back and swinging with a over head arc. Blocking with her shield, Pyrrha was unprepared for the sweeping leg kick that put her flat on her back. Switching into spear form, Jaune was forced to back up to avoid a spear to the face.

 **Over with Ruby and Weiss**

"I can't believe that he's keeping up with her. It doesn't look like she's going easy on him at all either." Weiss exclaimed, surprised that a person, not even a hunter in training, was able to stand on solid ground with Pyrrha Nikos. Ruby could only shrug, this wasn't the first time she had seen them sparred. Though, in her personal opinion, Jaune could wipe the floor with anybody that wan't a fully fledged Hunter. After all, there had to be a lot of skill for someone able to utilize so many different kinds of weapons, each to a amazing degrees of mastery. It made her proud to be his friend.

"You haven't seen anything yet, Jaune is just getting warmed up, he hasn't even pulled out his Colt yet." Ruby was about to say more, only for a knock at the door to alert them that a customer might me trying to enter. Knowing about the financial crisis, ok crisis was a bit of a stretch, she and Weiss went over to help with whatever they might need. (She had been there long enough to know the prices and placement of most of the things Jaune kept. No that was just being a good friend, not trying to get on his good side so that they could go out on a date or anything.) When she opened the door, the last thing she was expecting was to see a girl with pink and brown eyes. She gestured for something, and both she and Weiss was at a loss on what to do.

 **Back with Jaune and Pyrrha**

Once more rolling onto her stomach, Pyrrha pushed herself upwards, Miló changing back into Xiphos form and heading straight to his abdomen. Blocking, Jaune pulled his Colt out and peppered Pyrrha, who had retreated behind her shield. Rushing forward to press his advantage, only to not have learned from his previous encounters and was promptly introduced to Akoúo face to face. Landing on his back, he put his feet to her shield and shoved himself into a backwards roll and unto his feet. Pyrrha capitalized and stabbed once more and was meet his fist in her face.

Engaging once more in another bout of blades, they separated once and they where immediately back at each others neck. Sheild slamming into Jaune's guard, Pyrrha returned the favor by smacking him in the face, but she wasn't expecting for fall onto his back, with his legs wrapping around her waist. Back rolling with her still trapped in his legs. He was about the bring his blade to her neck before he was blasted back by Miló in gun form. Once more Pyrrha was at his neck, Miló poised to his trachea, only to feel the Colt pressed straight between her eyes.

"No offense, but I don't think you could stab me before this bullet runs through your head. Lets consider this one my win" Jaune said, tired. Nodding the two once more were lost in each others eyes. This time however, Ruby interrupted them by saying something very different.

"Jaune, we have a problem. You have a very unique person coming to see you." Jaune was about to question what she meant when he was interrupted by the sound of glass crashing.

It was just his luck that Neo decided that it was time drop in after so long. Weiss, Ruby, and Pyrrha stood confused on who this girl was and how she managed to get in with ice cream, which just so happened to be his, god dammit. "Neo, long time no see, what's up?." Jaune questioned, used to his treat beings stone by the shorter girl. He was responded by a bunch of singles, lucky for him he had been exposed to enough that he vaguely got what she was saying.

"Right, so, he does know that I don't have much experience with explosives right? He doesn't care, go take a class if I need to. He knows those aren't cheap right. He'll cover it, just need it in two months time? Alright, go tell him I'll get right on it.' While to the other girls, it looked like Jaune was just asking things with a vague response from the girl, the two had seemed to come to a conclusion. While turned away to gather his supplies, Neo looked at the other girls, and made gestures that Ruby and Pyrrha immediately understand. "He is MINE." Giving a ink at the two glaring girls, she broke into glass.

Once Jaune was ready, he escorted the girls back to the plane. All the way, Ruby and Pyrrha were telling him all the things they were going to be doing together over the next couple weeks. They had made sure to "suggest" that he join them. Seeing no problem with it, he agreed, making sure to schedule his classes earlier on the day to make room for them later. Waving good bye, Jaune started his walk back, but he couldn't stop wonder what the hell Roman needs explosives for.

 **Yay. Are you not proud of me. Sorry about the long wait. I went one way, then decided to back track and go another, then got For Honor. It was a very long reason why this is only coming out now, but fear not, for the next chapter is already in the works. Well done if you all read this far. Anyway, see you all in the next chapter.**


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